"Steve W." (clip) Fuel was originally coal but I have used mine with
briquet's for a demo
show. Coal gives you a much better fire and is easier to control. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Charcoal briquettes will produce plenty of heat, but the real deal is
blacksmith's coal--probably hard to get now. You could wet it and mound it
over the air inlet. The fire would cause it to crust together in sort of an
igloo shape, into which you would insert the pieces to be worked on. You
could get a very hot fire without having to have a lot of coal burning at
once.

Now you need the rest of the tools: anvil, stump to put it on, a variety of
different tongs.

This reminds me of a couple of things from my book on blacksmithing, listed
under "Don'ts for blacksmiths."

"Don't force the calipers. It won't make the metal any smaller."

"Never alter another man's tongs without permission."